Syria must prove jailed blogger is alive, well

New
York, June 23, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists and the Arabic Network
for Human Rights Information today called on the Syrian government to produce
immediate evidence showing that unjustly imprisoned blogger Tal al-Mallohi is
alive and well. The demand follows several recent news reports
saying that al-Mallohi died in a Syrian prison a month ago.

"The
Syrian government has repeatedly demonstrated a disregard for the well-being of
detained journalists, a practice that has worsened over the past three months,"
said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem. "Damascus
must immediately provide concrete evidence that Tal al-Mallohi--who shouldn't be
in prison in the first place--has not been harmed in custody."

Al-Mallohi, 20, was detained in December 2009 after
she was summoned for questioning by security officials. She was held in
extrajudicial detention for close to a year in relation to her online writings.
The High State Security Court in Damascus, a special tribunal established under
Syria's Emergency Law, sentenced al-Mallohi in February to five years in
prison on a fabricated charge of "disclosing information to a foreign country
that must remain a secret for national safety."

Al-Mallohi's blog was devoted to Palestinian rights
and was critical of Israeli policies. It also discussed the frustrations of
Arab citizens with their governments and what she perceived to be the
stagnation of the Arab world.

"We have always maintained that extraordinary
tribunals are no place to try a blogger for exercising her right to free
expression," said Gamal Eid, executive director of the Arabic Network for Human
Rights Information. "At this point, the Syrian government must provide tangible
proof that Tal al-Mallohi is in good health."

Reports
questioning whether al-Mallohi
is alive emerged after Khalid al-Khalaf, a human rights
defender, told the Egyptian daily Al-Shorouk
that a "sympathetic Syrian judge" had said the blogger had died in prison. Al-Khalaf
did not name the judge.

Al-Mallohi's case has gained widespread attention on
the Arab blogosphere, on social networks, and among human rights activists
worldwide. In September, Egyptian activists organized a protest in front of the
Syrian Embassy in Cairo calling for al-Mallohi's release. The protestors tried
unsuccessfully to deliver a letter to President Bashar al-Assad through Syria's
ambassador in Cairo. The letter appears on ANHRI's website. Around the same time,
CPJ sent a letter to al-Assad protesting al-Mallohi's
detention.

A delegation from CPJ and Reporters Without Borders
raised al-Mallohi's case in a meeting today with U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon. The meeting, which had been previously scheduled, focused primarily on
press issues in the Middle East and freedom of expression online.